Zagat Announces 2011 Ratings; Le Bernardin Is Near Perfect

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We now have a copy of the Michelin guide in our hot little hands, and would you believe it, X’ian Famous Foods doesn’t rank as one of the top 716 restaurants in the city. Sorry, Bourdain. But enough (for the moment) about Michelin: Also out today is the 2011 Zagat guide, which includes food-truck rankings for the first time! (The top three: Wafels & Dinges, Street Sweets, and Van Leeuwen). The big news here: Le Bernardin got an extremely rare 29 out of 30 for “Food” — the first time that’s happened since Bouley in 1996. Once again, La Grenouille and Sushi Yasuda also got high marks for “Food” (28, to be exact), even though they didn’t rank in the Michelin guide. Also getting 28s: Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, Daniel, Jean Georges, and Gramercy Tavern. Plus, Asiate and Per Se got near-perfect 29s in the categories of “Décor” and “Service,” respectively.

Gramercy Tavern stays above Union Square Café in the category of “Most Popular,” and Danny Meyer’s Maialino is the top “Newcomer.” Also of note: Mile End dethrones Barney Greengrass in the “Best Deli” category (other top picks reppin’ Brooklyn: Fette Sau for Barbecue, Pacificana for Chinese, Tanoreen for Middle Eastern, and Egg for Southern, and of course you knew Peter Luger was going to be best steakhouse). Fun facts: The cost of a meal is down by 5 percent (it’s now $41.78), 83 percent of people approve of letter grades, and while 11 percent say they’re eating out more, 27 percent say they’re eating out less. For more, check out Zagat Buzz’s blog post and Zagat’s press release.